Metrics and measurements - Essay Example

Overall, human resource metrics and measurements translate human resources capabilities to measurable strategic value, which facilitates better understanding of human resource data, and improves human resource connection with the rest of the organization (Jamroq and Overholt 3; Strategy2Act). According to Strategy2Act, an organization that develops solutions for obtaining valuable information out of files created with popular office tools, the most common human resource measurements and metrics are typically related to "employee attitudes, employee turnover, employee skill levels, as well as outsourcing costs, service center operations, the number human resource transactions processed, staffing process, training programs utilization and effectiveness, and promotions".

These metrics and measurements are used by 25% to 75% of all organizations (Strategy2Act). "Employee turnover" metric includes indicators such as cost per hire, turnover cost, turnover rate, time to fill, and length of employment. Cost per hire includes calculation of advertising fees, employment agency fees, headhunter fees, employee referrals rewards, relocation benefits, recruiter pay and benefits costs, and the number of hires. Turnover cost includes calculation of termination, new hire, vacancy, and learning curve costs.

Turnover rate is the rate at which employees leave the organization. Time to fill is the period from job requisition approval to new hire start date. Length of employment takes into account the job designation, department, etc (Strategy2Act). For example, Carphone Warehouse found that every retail employee who left the company within six months cost 4,875 in gross profit margins. If they could reduce turnover by only 2% they could cut 585,900 in recruitment and training costs and lost productivity (Carrington 38).

"Recruiting" metric includes vacant period, new hires performance appraisal, manager satisfaction, turnover rates of new hires, and financial impact of bad hire. Vacant period is the number of overall days the jobs were vacant. New hires performance appraisal is the average performance appraisal of new hires, compared to previous period. Manager satisfaction is the satisfaction of hiring managers, compared to previous period. Turnover rate of new hires is measured for a specific period. Financial impact of bad hire includes the cost per hire and the turnover cost.

For example, Carphone Warehouse uses recruitment metrics to "get the right people at the right time - and first time"."Retention" metric includes overall employee turnover, preventable turnover, diversity turnover, and financial impact of employee turnover. Overall employee turnover emphasizes the key positions. Preventable turnover takes into account the reasons why the employee left the organization and what measures may be taken to prevent it. Diversity turnover classifies the turnover rate into three categories based on professional, managerial, and technical positions.

For example, Scottish Power uses a scorecard system to monitor retention of its retail business that employs call center staff, meter readers, and sales person where retention rate is low. "Training and Development" metric includes learning and growth opportunities, on-the-job learning satisfaction, and opportunities for new hires. Learning and growth